Here's How Malaysia Airlines' Response To The Missing Plane Could Tarnish Its Brand

Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation's Director General Azharuddin Abdul Rahman briefs reporters. AP/Daniel Chan The mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 from radar screens without any distress signals in calm weather has investigators puzzled. What's even more puzzling is the way the airline has handled the situation.

Mysterious passengers that were not screened

Security officials have already determined that at least two of the passengers were flying with stolen passports. Both of them purchased one-way tickets from the same travel agent at a shopping mall in Thailand - an obvious red flag. Raising the flag higher, both were stolen in Thailand in 2012 and 2013 from Austrian and Italian visitors. As reported in the New York Times, Ronald K. Noble, secretary general of Interpol, said that no checks of these phony passports had been conducted in Malaysia or anywhere else before the plane left Kuala Lumpur for China. Interpol has a database that could have been easily checked. If it was, the bogus passports would have been discovered before those holding them boarded the plane.

Malaysia Airlines mishandles response

Similar to Asiana Airline's handling of the aftermath of its crash landing at San Francisco Internal Airport in July, Malaysia Airlines ignored proper crisis management protocols after the plane disappeared. It brought 500 awaiting relatives of the passengers to a hotel without giving them any information. Many of the relatives were more than angry that nobody from the airline came to speak with them, and that they were served bread and water at the hotel. As reported by Reuters, Chinese Xinhua news agency asked on Weibo, "Malaysia Airlines, why did you wait for five hours after losing contact with the aircraft to first announce the news, and why did you only have a news conference after almost 13 hours?" Per the New York Times, China's foreign minister, Wang Yi told his Malaysian counterpart, Anifah Haji Aman, in a rather heated tone, "The Malaysia Airlines flight has been missing for close to 40 hours. The Chinese government is treating this very seriously, and the Chinese people are extremely anxious." He requested that Malaysia provide continuous updates on the situation.

Lowering the risk of a risky business

While flying is the safest form of travel, it is a risky business for those involved in making and flying the planes. When bad things happen, the best companies can do is be forthcoming with the public. When there is a crisis, the proper procedure is for PR-savvy company representatives to talk with the public through the media to reassure them that everything is being done to investigate the cause and insure the safety of the airline and the wellbeing of its passengers. The idea is to get ahead of the story and make the public as comfortable as possible in doing business with the airline.

What businesses can learn

What can any business learn from this latest incident involving Malaysia Airlines? Employ the fact procedure to protect your reputation.

Admit the problem, and apologize. Even if the cause of the crash is unknown, Malaysia Airlines has to demonstrate to its constituents that it is doing the best it can under very difficult circumstances. By not assigning company representatives to talk with the relatives and make them comfortable and by not talking with the media for 13 hours, it took far too long to communicate, and this has caused a lot of unnecessary anger on the part of the relatives, the Chinese government, and the flying public.

Limit the scope. To put this situation in perspective, Malaysia Airlines should make it clear that its airline and the Boeing 777 are extremely safe. The last time Malaysia Airlines lost a plane was 1977 - 37 years ago, and the Boeing 777 has had a near spotless record. To date, the airline seems to have ignored this step.

Propose a solution so it will not happen again. The airline may not be able to complete this step until the cause of the crash is determined. One thing it can do is to tighten up security and not allow persons with false passports to fly on its planes. It would make a lot of potential customers a lot more comfortable if they know that the airline is doing whatever it can to screen passengers before they board the flight.

Could this be a cultural problem?

Malaysia Airlines' handling of the current situation reminds those who remember the missteps that Asiana Airlines and Toyota made when they were faced with their own corporate image crises. It has even led some to believe that this may be a cultural issue. Whether an organization has a cultural impediment or not, any company faced with such a crisis that does not know the proper protocol to handle it should consult with crisis management experts for advice to protect its reputation going forward. After all, once you lose public's trust, you've lost everything.